Enigmas of Karnataka

Did the illustrious Hoysala king, Vishnuvardhana, create a fictional tale about his dynasty’s founder? Is Bengaluru’s Kadlekai Parishe a wholly British invention with no roots to the City’s founding years? Acutely aware of their inferior status in the royal hierarchy, did the Wodeyars use the origin stories they had fabricated two centuries earlier to enter into matrimonial alliances in north India? Is the greatest icon of temple-building in Karnataka, Jakanacharai, a mere legend? Did Ramanuja, the famed Vishishtadvaita philosopher, order the disfigurement of the Gommateshwara statue to achieve narrow religious ends? 


The construct of Indian history is embellished with its fair share of assumptions and glaring omission of facts; much of it infused with bias. To add to the conundrum, many a time, our forebears in Karnataka devised their own version of events that were often steeped in legend. This propensity for myth-making tossed accuracy into a grey area, which gave birth to a wealth of enigmas in its wake.


Backed by insights from esteemed scholars, this book aims to separate fiction from fact. Unlock the hidden truths behind hoary myths and legends shrouded in the mists of time. The reality of history as you know it will stagger you.